Table of Contents

Available scientific knowledge indicates that, depending on context and circumstances, families can be both a risk factor and a protective factor for juvenile delinquency.Footnote 1

Risk factors

Some of the risk factors associated with family are static, while others are dynamic. Static risk factors, such as criminal history, parental mental health problems or a history of childhood abuse, are unlikely to change over time. However, dynamic risk factors, such as poor parental behaviour, family violence or parental drug addiction, can be modified through appropriate prevention and treatment programs.

Risk factors have a cumulative and interactive effect: a family exposed to several risk factors is considered a high-risk family. Furthermore, children and adolescents exposed to several risk factors will also be considered at high risk of embarking on a life path that will lead to delinquent behaviour.Footnote 2 This is because not only do the effects of risk factors accumulate, but the factors also interact with each other: the effects of one multiply the effects of another and so on. For example, parental alcoholism causes family conflicts, which then increase the risks of substance abuse.

Risk factors associated with family dynamic and functioning

Ineffective parental behaviour

An inadequate family dynamic caused by poor parental practices, such as a lack of supervision,Footnote 3 rules that are too permissive, discipline that is inconsistent or too strict, a weak bond, and the inability to establish clear boundaries, were identified as strong risk factors for delinquent behaviour,Footnote 4 drug use,Footnote 5 poor academic performanceFootnote 6 and membership in youth gangs.Footnote 7

Adolescents from families characterized by a lack of order and discipline are four times more at risk of engaging in delinquent behaviour as adults than children from structured families.Footnote 8

According to the International Youth Survey (IYS), 56% of youth who stated that their parents never knew who they were with had engaged in delinquent behaviour during the past 12 months, compared to 35% of youth whose parents did not always know who they were with and 12% of youth whose parents always knew who they were with.Footnote 9

Parental criminality

The PittsburghFootnote 10 and CambridgeFootnote 11 longitudinal studies show that having a father, mother, brother or sister who displays criminal behaviour is a significant risk factor for delinquent behaviour in boys.

Among the risk factors related to parental criminality, criminal behaviour by the father is one of the most influential: 63% of boys whose fathers are involved in criminal activity are at risk of doing the same, compared to 30% of other boys.Footnote 12

Mistreatment during childhood and family violence

The presence of family violence and being mistreated during childhood are two significant risk factors associated with adolescent delinquent behaviour and violence in adulthood.Footnote 13

Parental substance abuse

Fifteen-year-olds whose parent use drugs are twice as likely to use drugs themselves.Footnote 14

Fifteen-year-olds whose parents have a drinking problem are not at higher risk of developing a drinking problem.Footnote 15

Amongst 15-year-olds, peer pressure is a more significant risk factor than having parents who drink.Footnote 16

Risk factors associated with family characteristics

Considered in isolation, the risk factors associated with family characteristics have a less obvious effect on adoption of delinquent behaviour amongst youth. The negative effects are sometimes the result of other factors, sometimes the result of a combination of risk factors.Footnote 17

Boys from broken homes are more at risk of engaging in delinquent behaviour than boys whose parents are still together, but they are no more at risk than boys whose parents are still together but who come from conflictual family environments.Footnote 18

After controlling gender, income and parental supervision, researchers conclude that increased family transitionsFootnote 19 are significantly related to a higher rate of delinquent behaviour and substance abuse.Footnote 20

According to the Rochester study results, 90% of youth who experienced five or more family transitions showed signs of delinquent behaviour, compared to 64.1% of youth who never experienced family transitions.Footnote 21

Risk factors associated with area of residence

Family functioning is influenced by social contextFootnote 22. Families with few resources and who live in underprivileged areas have more difficulty providing their children with an upbringing that will keep them away from deviant and at-risk behaviour.Footnote 23

Areas characterized by extreme poverty, broken homes and high residential mobility tend to weaken the social networks and community socializing of children, and exacerbate ineffective parental behaviour.Footnote 24

Young children who live in underprivileged areas and grow up in families in which parental supervision is lacking are at risk of engaging in delinquent behaviour as adolescents.Footnote 25

Table 1 - Juvenile delinquency risk factors associated with family according to age of children and adolescents

Cumulative and interactive effects of risk factors

6-12 years

13-17 years

18 and older

Family dynamic and functioning

Poor parental practices

Parental and/or sibling criminality

Anti-social parents with attitudes that support violence

Family conflicts

Parents with substance abuse problems

Physical abuse and neglect

Family violence

Poor parental practices

Parental and/or sibling criminality

Family violence

History of poor treatment

Family characteristics

Unstable family income

Broken home

Family mobility

Mental health of parents

Young mother

Number of children in the family

Single parent family

Parental past

Unstable family income

Broken home

Family mobility

Unstable family income

Area of residence

Poor area

Presence of young offenders

Poor area

Crime in the area

Presence of youth gangs

Availability of drugs and firearms

Poverty

Crime

Youth gangs

Drugs and firearms

Protective factors

Protective factors help us to better understand the characteristics and situations that protect and distance youth from delinquent behaviour.Footnote 26 Protective factors are characteristics or conditions that act as risk moderators, i.e., they help reduce the negative effects associated with risk factors and help youth better handle their situation.Footnote 27

Protective factors are cumulative and interactive. However, they are not necessarily always the opposite of risk factors; for example, growing up in a poor area can be attenuated by parental involvement, participation and support.Footnote 28

Adequate parental practices are a significant protective factor against deviant behaviour such as delinquency and drug/alcohol abuse.Footnote 30

The quality of family ties is a protective factor against delinquency for girls and boys of all age groups.Footnote 31

The integration of families into the life of their community, the involvement of families in extracurricular and scholastic activities, and the availability of resources and services are also considered to be protective factors.Footnote 32

Conclusion

Families that present risk factors for juvenile delinquency must be considered as a complex reality, influenced by various risk factors. The concept of the "at-risk" family must be understood as a whole. Furthermore, we must not forget that family is at the crossroads of many other areas of influence: circle of friends, school and the community.

Families play a key role in the development of children and adolescents. It is therefore important to address those who are at risk by focusing on protective factors and offering training to parents and youth, family therapy, integrated treatment plans or other effective strategies to prevent and reduce juvenile delinquency.Footnote 34

Farrington, D., et al. 2006. Criminal Careers up to Age 50 and Life Success up to Age 48: New Findings from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. London: Home O ffice Research, Development and Statistics Directorate.

McVie, S. and L. Holmes. 2005. "Family Functioning and Substance Use at Ages 12 to 17". The Edinburgh Study of Youth Transition and Crime (No. 9). Edinburgh: The University of Edinburgh, Centre for Law and Society.

Schonert-Reichl, K. 2000. Children and Youth at Risk: Some Conceptual Considerations. Paper prepared for the Pan-Canadian Education Research Agenda Symposium, sponsored by the Canadian Education Statistics Council with the assistance of Human Resources Development Canada.

2The duration of exposure to risk factors and the nature of the factors are also variables that must be considered in order to understand the links between risk factors, family and delinquency (Wasserman et al., 2003); see also Schonert-Reichl, 2000.

3In general, supervision refers to the control parents exert over their children's comings and goings, social network, homework, pastimes, knowing whether they smoke or use drugs (Mucchielli, 2001).

19"Family transitions" refers to a group of events associated with change: for example, in terms of the family structure (divorce, re-marriage) or family mobility (moving). As the researchers have pointed out, these results must be considered in the context of prevention programs: youth who are undergoing family transitions are more likely to have trouble handling their emotions; therefore, one of the solutions is to improve their skills and ability to control them. (Thornberry, T. et al., 1999).

33Current research on protective factors is not detailed enough to allow us to distinguish them based on age.

34See the research report by Savignac, Julie. Families, Youth and Delinquency: the State of Knowledge, and Family-Based Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Programs. Available in English and in French. Ottawa: Public Safety Canada, National Crime Prevention Centre, 2008.